Typewriting machine



Sept. 5, I944. A..w. MILLS ET AL. 2,357,487

TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed May 26, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet l hril i I S Y ml 0 E mmL i u N m Q W H QM k\ IHII H uunuu Sept. 5, 1944.

A. w. MILLS ET AI ,357,487

TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed May 26, -l942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Sept. 5,1944. A. w. MILLS ETAL TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed May 26, 1942 FIGS.

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Patented Sept. 5, 1944- TYPEWRITING MACHINE Albert Mills and Frank J. Furman, Endicott, N. Y., assignors to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corpora-- tion of New York Application May 26, 1942, SerialNo. 444,550

6 Claims. ('01.. 197-135) This invention relates to typewriting machines.

An object of the present'invention is to provide means of typing upon stencils which are quite large in comparison with the ordinary stencils used atthe present time in addressing machines of the Elliott type. j

It has been proposed to construct accounting and statisticalrecord cards of the types used in the well known Hollerith system of accounting with stencil openings and to utilize such stencil cards, as they may be called, in machines especially designed therefor to print upon another card which may be of the same size as the stencil and which may consist of a conventional perforated accounting and statistical record card.

There perforated cards are usually quite large and have a minimum width of three and one quarter inches but may vary in length up to seven and three eighths inches, the seven and three eighths inch cards being .the ones most commonly employed in perforated record card accounting at the present time.

Alphabetical and numerical data is usuallyrecorded in these. cards by means of perforations disposed in any of the twelve index-point positions of parallel rows or columns of index-point positions, arranged side-by-side crosswise of the card.

It is contemplated that the stencil card have a relatively small window of suitable stencil material in which may be recorded by typing on a typewriter such data as a name and address, or

machine which is very simple in construction and requires a minimum amount of alteration of the. structure of the machine itself toincor- .por'ate the attachment in the machine.

Another object is to provide a convenient backlug medium for the stencil.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of example, the principle of the Fig. 4. is a vertical section on the line 4-4 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a front view of the stencil card.

Fig. 6 is a front view of the backing means for the stencil.

In Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, the present invention is shown as applied to the carriage of the well known .Electromatic typewriting machine merely as a convenience in description. It will be understood that the invention may be applied to other forms of typewriting machines, both manual and power operated, merely by relatively simple changes in the means for mounting the attachparticulars such as the name of a trust or a description of property, these stencils being ordinarily employed not only for simple addressing of envelopes and other papers .but also for the purpose of recording data on such things as trust reports and tax bills, Because of the fact that the accounting and statistical record cards are quite wide, it is not very convenient to use an ordinary typewriter, not only because of the fact that it is not advisable-to bend the record card in order to avoid difficulties in feeding such a card through the machine designed to utilize it, but also because .of,,the,-fact that the stencil cards must necessarily be made very heavy to provide a suitablesupport frame for the stencil window.

It is one of the objects of the present invention; therefore, to provide an attachment for conventional: typewriting machines which will permits ihe writing of stencils with a minimum amount of bending of the card.

. Another object is to provide a stencil supportment on the carriage and relativel slight modifications in the manner of attaching to the machine the card stop described hereinafter.

In Figures 1, 2 and 3, the carriage of the .Electromatic typewriting machine comprises side plates l0 which'are rigidly joined together by the usual column stop bar I I, the marginal stop bar I2 and a cross rod l3. The side plates III are also rigidly joined together at their lower edges by a channel shaped member I4 which is formed with grooves to receive the usual anti-friction rollers I5 by means of which the carriage is suptachment on the carriage comprises a cross frame cross section (Fig. 4) the ends of which are turned downwardly and attached to the outer sides of the plates III by means of screws 2|. Secured on the top of the frame 20 are two brackets 22 which are spaced apart an extent very slightly greater than the length of the stencil card in order to act as side guides in inserting a stencil card in front of the platen. For the purpose of guiding the stencil card, and also for controlling the pressure rollers which hold the stencil in place on the platen while the stencil card is being fed in line spacing, there is provided a card guide plate 23 having ears 23a which are pivoted to the brackets 22 at 24. This card guide plate is provided with a finger piece 23b which may be grasped with the left hand to swing the plate 23 forwardly in Figs. 1 and 2, or counterclockwise in Fig. 3, when inserting a stencil card.

For the purpose of holding the stencil card in contact with the platen there is provided a pair of pressure rollers 25 which are journaled on long studs 26 in the ends of curved arms 21. The arms 21 are pivoted on studs 23 on the brackets 22 and are urged in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3) into engagement with the platen by means of springs 29 which are anchored to pins carried by. the arms 21 and to holes in the brackets 22. Ordinarily the card guide 23 is held against rollers 30 on studs 3| carried by the brackets 22. Springs 32, anchored to pins carried by cars 23a and by brackets 22, are provided for this purpose.

Normally the rollers 25 are free to press the stencil card against the platen l1 when the paper guide 23 is in the position shown inthe drawings and, the paper table is pressed by springs 32 in clockwise direction '(Fig. 3) to press the stencil card and the backing member against the roller 30 so that the stencil card and its backing member will be held firmly on the front or delivery side of the platen.

For the purpose of inserting and removing the stencil cards with a minimum .amount of bending and wear on the stencil cards, means are provided whereby a movement of the card guide 23 in a. counterclockwise direction, with reference to Fig. 3, will disengage the rollers 25 from the platen. This means consists of rollers 33 (Figs. 1 and 4) which are rotatably mounted on studs 34 carried by the ears 23a. The rollers 33 are in the planes of arms 21 but normally there is a clearance space to enable the springs 29 to draw the rollers 25 into engagement with the stencil card on the platen.

When it is desired to insert a stencil card, the finger piece 23b on card guide 23 is grasped and pulled forwardly (Figs. 1 and 2) to rock the card guide counterclockwise (Figs. 3 and 4). short movement of the card guide in this direction the rollers 33 engage the arms 21 and rock them clockwise far enough to permit the stencil card to be pushed downwardly between the rollers 25 and the platen l1.

In order to limit the downward movement of the card and to square it with the platen l1, there is provided a card stop 35 which at its lower edge is bent at an angle to provide a shelf or stop portion 35a. This card stop 35 is attached to the front face of a card guide 36 by means of screws 31 and the card guide 36 in turn is fastened to the front faces of lugs 38a formed in a curved cover strip 38 which customarily is fastened to the top of the front rail 16 and also to certain parts of the base l9. This cover strip is curved in cross section, as shown in Figs. 3

After a I and 4 and lugs 33a extend upwardly in a. plane approximately tangent with the platen 11. ,A stencil card inserted behind the card guide 23 as described above is pushed downwardly and, in its progress downwardly, its lower edge first strikes the card guide 36, then is deflected downwardly more to the right (Figs. 3 and 4) until it strikes the card stop 35. The latter further deflects the edge of the card slightly to the right until it is finally stopped by the shelf 35a. When inserting the cards, the finger piece 231; is usually grasped by the left hand while the forefinger of the right hand presses on the middle of the top edge of the card so that, if the card goes in on a slight skew, the lower corner of the card which goes first will be struck first by the shelf 35a and, with continued finger pressure, the card will be leveled on the shelf whereupon the guide 23 is released and the machine is ready to type the stencil. During the operation of the machine, the line spacing of the platen causes the card to be fed upwardly to the left (Figs. 3 and 4), the rollers 25 cooperating with the platen 11 in the same way as do the paper bail .rollers in a conventional machine to feed the stencil card upwardly. In order to provide a suitable backing for the stencil and to protect the platen to some extent against the action of the oils used in the moistening fluid for the stencil, there is provided a backing card 39 (Fig. 6) of the same size and shape as the stencil 40 shown in Fig. 5. This the characters 44 cut in the stencil 40 by the type bars.

The stencil card 40 and backing card 39 have the same linear dimensions as a conventional 45 or column Hollerith perforated accounting and statistical record card in common use in systems of perforated card accounting. The stencil card 40 is made approximately twice as thick as the backing card 39 which may have about the same thickness as a conventional accounting and statistical record card. One convenient way of making the stencil is to cement together two such record cards, both out out to form the window 42, with the stencil material 43 between. Data, such as classification and code numbers may be recorded in the stencil by means of perforations 45 by well known means.

Before placing a stencil card 40 in the machine, the stencil is placed in a suitable moistening device which dampens the stencil material 43 and then is placed over one of the backing cards 39 with the panel '40 in register with the stencil window. This panel is slightly smaller than the stencil window so that the panel projects into the frame of the stencil. The stencil card and backing card are then inserted behind the card guide 23 as described above. Owing to the fact that the panel 40 projectsinto the stencil window it acts to a certain extent as a key to tie the stencil to the backing card and thus tends to prevent slippage of the backing card relative to the stencil whereby the stencil will be more accurately fed than if it were backed with a smooth card lacking the panel.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modification it will be understood that various omissions and be made by those skilled in the art without de-i parting from the spirit of the invention; It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with the carriage of a typewriting machine, a platen rotatably mounted in the carriage, a' stencil card guide plate pivotally mounted in the carriage and disposed to enable a stencil card to be inserted behind said guide plate and in front of the platen when said guide plate is swung away from the platen, a pair of guide plate stop rollers mounted in the carriage at the ends of said guide plate, means to urge said guide plate toward said stop rollers to enable said rollers to grip a stencil inserted behindsaid guide plate and in front of said rollers, pressure rollers, arms supporting said pressure rollers pivotally mounted in the carriage, means to urge said pressure rollers toward the platen to press said stencil against said platen, and means whereby the pivotal movement of the guide plate forwardly away from the platen and stop rollers to permit insertion of a stencil behind said plate actuates said arms on their pivots to'move said pressure rollers away from the platen.

2. In combination with the main frame of a typewriting machine, a carriage, a platen rotatably mounted in the carriage; a card guide introduced behind said card past said pressure rollers, said card guide being movable away from said platen to permit the introduction of said card and operable to disengage the pressure rollers to permit the free insertion of the stencil card, and a card stop cooperating with the lower edge of the stencil card when so introduced to determine the first line of writing on the stencil.

4. In combination with the carriage of a typewriting machine, a pair of side guides mounted on the carriage, a guide plate pivotally mounted between said side guides on the delivery side of the platen, pressure rollers mounted on said side guides, means to urge said pressure-rollers into engagement with the platen, said rollers being disengageable from the platen by a pivotal movement of the guide plate to permit insertion of a stencil card behind the guide plate and. at the delivery side of the platen, and a card stop located below the delivery side of the platen for arresting the stencil card in a position for writing the first line of the stencil.

extending parallel with the platen and on the delivery side thereof, said guide being pivotally mounted at both ends in the carriage for a movement away from the platen to enable introduction of the stencil card behind said guide and in front of the platen; a card stop mounted in the main frame and having a ledge engaging the lower edge of the stencil to position said stencil for the writing of the first line of said stencil, and pressure rollers pivotally mounted on the carriage at the ends of said guide and urging said stencil into engagement with said platen, said rollers being releasable by movement of the card guide away from the platen.

5. In combination with the carriage of a type-.

mounted on said side guides and, with said side guides, forming a chute for guiding a stencil card over the delivery side of the platen to a first-line writing position, pressure rollers engaging said platen on the delivery side thereof and operable to press the stencil against the platen and to cooperate with the platen to line space the stencil, means whereby movement of the guide plate releases the pressure rollers to enable a stencil to be inserted behind the guide plate at the front of the platen and moved to position to write the first line, and'a card stop for arresting the stencil in position to write the first line.

6. In combination with the main frame of a typewriting machine, a carriage mounted on the main frame, a platen mounted on the carriage, side guides for guiding a stencil over the platen, a guide plate mounted between the side guides for movement from a closed position toward the operator to an open position, means normally holding the guide plate in a closed position; pressure rollers normally engaging the platen and releasable by the opening movement of the guide plate to-permit the insertion of a stencil card between said side guides and behind said guide plate,

said guide plate guiding the inserted stencil card over the delivery side of the platen and in front 

